The Kitten
by Jade II
Summary: Laura has a kitten. Bill disapproves. AR


Laura was smiling to herself when Bill stepped into her office on Colonial One, which was unusual. Certainly not unpleasant, mind, but definitely... unusual.

"Bill," she said warmly, looking up. "I'll be with you in a minute, please sit down."

"Yes, Madam President," he replied. He took a seat by the door and watched as she read through some document or other, her lips moving slightly in thought as she did so. Bill smiled to himself.

Then a kitten poked its head up behind the desk from Laura's lap and jumped onto her paperwork. Laura muttered something to it and pushed it gently out of the way so that she could sign something on the paper underneath its paws.

Bill cleared his throat. "Laura?"

"Mmm?" she said absently, pencilling something into a margin. The kitten tried to attack a dangling strand of her hair and then had difficulty extracting its claws from it.

"Why do you have a kitten?"

The animal in question looked up at the sound of his voice. It was a fluffy tabby color and was staring at him with big green eyes.

It was a little unsettling.

Laura looked at it, an affectionate smile creeping across her lips as she did so. "One of my students' cats had a litter. Her mother was having a hard time finding homes for all the kittens, so I said I'd take one. Didn't I, Katie?" she said to the kitten, scratching it under its chin. It purred appreciatively.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Laura raised her eyebrows and glanced over at him. "Why not? She has the run of the ship, scraps from the kitchen, a comfortable place to sleep... what more could a little cat want?"

The kitten padded over to the edge of the desk and meowed at Bill. He tried not to look uncomfortable, but it was in vain – he could already see the grin spreading over Laura's face.

"Don't you like cats, Bill?" she asked innocently.

"Not particularly," he admitted.

"Why not?" Laura asked almost accusingly, rising from her chair and sweeping the kitten into her arms. She carried it over to the chair next to Bill's and sat down, depositing the purring ball of fluff in her lap.

Bill sighed. He hated telling this story. "You see these scars on my cheek?" he began.

"Mmhmm." Laura stroked the kitten, which purred loudly.

"I was eight. I bent down to pet my grandmother's cat, and it leaped up and attached itself to my face with its claws. It wouldn't let go until my grandfather heard me screaming and pulled it off of me. I couldn't open my mouth without pain for two weeks."

Laura was tickling the kitten's stomach now. It was writhing in her lap in ecstasy.

"That cat was evil incarnate," Bill continued. "Torvald was his name. He used to bite everybody for no reason. He'd catch baby rabbits and leave them lying bleeding on the kitchen floor. He even chased dogs."

"Well Bill," Laura began, obviously amused. "I would suggest that you don't let your past experiences cloud your judgement on this matter. Katie is nothing like this... Torvald. Are you, sweetie?" she said to the kitten. It meowed in reply.

"That's easy for you to say," Bill told her. "You're not the one who was permanently scarred."

Laura rolled her eyes. The kitten jumped off her lap and trotted over to Bill. It paused to sniff his boot and then, to his horror, jumped up onto his knees and rubbed its head against his chest. He could feel its tiny claws just poking through the fabric of his pants.

"She likes you," Laura said.

Bill glared at the kitten and prodded it gently with one finger, hoping this would make it go away. Instead it sat down and started to wash itself.

Laura laughed.

Bill turned his glare to her. Unfortunately it had no effect, and she stood up and walked over to sit down on the arm of his chair, leaning across him to stroke the fur on the kitten's head.

"She's harmless, Bill. See?" The kitten made appreciative noises and tried to stand on its hind legs to get closer to her. "Come on," Laura said, taking his hand and putting it over the kitten's back. "Give her some loving." She grinned.

Grumbling, Bill did as he was told. The kitten's fur was soft and he could feel its spine underneath its skin. Perhaps it was too fragile to be a real menace just yet, he conceded to himself. In any case it appreciated his ministrations, rubbing its head against his hand and purring appreciatively.

"She definitely likes you," Laura remarked smugly.

"Must be my irresistible male charm," Bill replied, still watching the kitten guardedly.

"Hey, that's why I like you," Laura said.

Bill looked at her. Laura looked back, emanating nonchalance like one of those wayward students she had complained about occasionally back on New Caprica.

He returned his attention to the kitten, which all of a sudden seemed far less complicated. Experimentally, he tried slipping his fingers underneath it to tickle its stomach. The kitten rolled over immediately onto its back, purring with the same ecstasy it had earlier exhibited for Laura.

"Easy to please, isn't she," Laura said. "It's a nice change from all those stubborn humans."

"Hey, I'm not hard to please," Bill protested.

"William Adama, are you telling me all you need is for someone to run their hand through your hair to make everything right in your world?" And she reached out to do just that.

Bill felt the atmosphere change as if a switch had been flicked. "No, but it sure helps," he said, suddenly finding it difficult to keep his voice steady.

"Hmm," Laura said. Her fingers wandered down through his hair to stroke the back of his neck.

A few minutes later the kitten was rather unceremoniously relocated to the floor when Laura stole its place on Bill's lap.

It took quite some time for it to get any attention again from either of them.

**The End**


End file.
